A homeless man who wrote great tunes

Gustav Mahler liked to say that he was homeless three times over – as a Bohemian in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans and as a Jew everywhere else.

Homelessness and a lack of a roots have been a great stimulus to music (just think of the blues) and Mahler’s case was no different: When this man wrote melodies none could be sweeter, sadder or more devastating.

You can hear it all first hand this weekend when baritone Christopheren Nomura sings the Austrian composer’s “Songs for a Wayfarer.” Also on the program is Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 3 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 – an evening that samples, in other words, the great classical and romantic masterworks of Vienna.

The concert takes place 8 p.m. Saturday at the Civic Center Theater. For more information, see the symphony orchestra’s website at http://www.peoriasymphony.org.

Gary Panetta

Gustav Mahler liked to say that he was homeless three times over – as a Bohemian in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans and as a Jew everywhere else.

Homelessness and a lack of a roots have been a great stimulus to music (just think of the blues) and Mahler’s case was no different: When this man wrote melodies none could be sweeter, sadder or more devastating.

You can hear it all first hand this weekend when baritone Christopheren Nomura sings the Austrian composer’s “Songs for a Wayfarer.” Also on the program is Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 3 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 – an evening that samples, in other words, the great classical and romantic masterworks of Vienna.
The concert takes place 8 p.m. Saturday at the Civic Center Theater. For more information, see the symphony orchestra’s website at http://www.peoriasymphony.org.